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Leonardo Da Vinci: The anatomy of man
BOOK REVIEWS John M. Porter, MD, Book Review Section Editor
Varicose veins and telangiectasias John J. Bergan, Mitchel P. Goldman, St. Louis, 1993, Quality Medical Publishing, 448 pages, $110. The main body of this book, not surprisingly, is about varicose veins and is divided into four main sections: pathophysiology; evaluation; treatment options; and complex problems, including the avoidance of considerable duplication. Just as views differ, so does the style of the chapters. Some are traditionally scientific and comprehensively referenced. Others tend to self-opinion anecdote and prejudice. This variation in form includes '''dialogue'; between contributors. I suspect that the editors have deliberately encouraged this international and varied flavor. However, this is at the expense of what might have been achieved by more stringent editorial control. Some important areas are relatively neglected, including varicose vein recurrence, venous ulceration, and the problems of the saphenopopliteal junction. Inevitably, there are views expressed with which some will disagree - the relative significance of saphenous incompetence and compression sclerotherapy in venous ulceration, for example. Of unusual interest is the inclusion of obscure, and ill-defined problems. Congenital malformations such as Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome and related disorders are usefully considered. However, the section on the difficult and controversial "pelvic congestion syndrome" was neither comprehensive nor convincing. The final and smaller section concerns the management of telangiectatic veins. For those not familiar with the management of these difficult problems, this is invaluable. There is excellent information on technique and a comprehensive and authoritative overview of complications. The book is easy and enjoyable to read and liberally illustrated with diagrams, venograms, and clinical photographs - many of them in color. It will be of considerable value to anyone with an interest in venous disease and is recommended. However, it is important to note that the book is neither a comprehensive nor definitive study of venous disease. Indeed the Editors never intended it to be. Simon Darke, MS Rnyal Victoria Hospital-Rnyal Boumemouth Hospital Dorset, England
Leonardo Da Vinci: The anatomy of man Martin Clayton, Boston, 1992, Little, Brown & Company, 141 pages, $40.
Leonardo Da Vinci: The A~atomy ofMan is a collection of reproductions of anatomic drawings and notes created by Leonardo Da Vinci from 1487 to 1513. They have been assembled from the very well-preserved collection of Queen Elizabeth II, which is housed in the Royal Library at
Windsor Castle (No mention is made of whether this collection was damaged by the fire in 1992). The book is actually a catalogue of an exhibition by the same title shown at the Museums of Fine Art in Houston and Boston and the Philadelphia Museum of Art during 1992-1993. This attractively bound book is printed on heavy bonded paper and contains illustrations and text, some of which do not appear in the exhibit. The reproductions of Da Vinci's drawings (82 drawings, 59 in color) are crisp and clear, and a fine value considering the price of the book ($40). Comparing them with a well-known complete collection of Da Vinci's art-Leonardo Da Vinci, a book by Artabras, there are more ofDa Vinci's scientific drawings reproduced with such clarity and warmth that the reader feels as though they are leafing through the folios themselves. The text is written by two authors who come from distinctly different professions: Martin Clayton, the Assistant Curator in the Print Room at Windsor Castle and an art historian, and Ron Philo, an anatomist at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. Their combined text accompanies each drawing and creates a dialogue between art historian and scientist that compliments and analyzes the pieces. Mr. Clayton begins the book with a brief biography of Da Vinci and a short history of scientific illustration, including mentions of other Renaissance contemporaries, such as Raphael and Versalius. The remainder of the book is organized into three parts on the basis of the time period whe~ the pieces were created. Within each part the drawmgs are grouped by anatomic system. There are translations of Da Vinci's own notes within the text allowing the reader to hear the artist-scientist's thought~ and words. Mr. Clayton'S historical comments place each drawing within the context of the time period, whereas Mr. Philo's comments relate these drawings to what is currently known about anatomy in the twentieth century. The result is an enjoyable treatise that contrasts Da Vinci's drawings. What Clayton and the Queen's Collection have done in the assembling of this book is to realize 400 years later Da Vinci's dream, a dream cut short by the plague, to combine artistic studies of human dissection with Galens' concept of the "corpora similaria." This book is recommended to all with an interest in the history of early medicine and art. Ronald J. Stoney, MD University of California Medical Center San Francisco, Calif.
Thrombolysis Edgar Haber, Eugene Braunwald, St. Louis, 1991, Mosby-Year Book, Inc., 357 pages, $59. Numerous review and text books have been written about thrombolysis, each becoming obsolete by clinical data extinction, advances in molecular biology, and bio181
Varicose veins and telangiectasias John J. Bergan, Mitchel P. Goldman, St. Louis, 1993, Quality Medical Publishing, 448 pages, $110. The main body of this book, not surprisingly, is about varicose veins and is divided into four main sections: pathophysiology; evaluation; treatment options; and complex problems, including the avoidance of considerable duplication. Just as views differ, so does the style of the chapters. Some are traditionally scientific and comprehensively referenced. Others tend to self-opinion anecdote and prejudice. This variation in form includes '''dialogue'; between contributors. I suspect that the editors have deliberately encouraged this international and varied flavor. However, this is at the expense of what might have been achieved by more stringent editorial control. Some important areas are relatively neglected, including varicose vein recurrence, venous ulceration, and the problems of the saphenopopliteal junction. Inevitably, there are views expressed with which some will disagree - the relative significance of saphenous incompetence and compression sclerotherapy in venous ulceration, for example. Of unusual interest is the inclusion of obscure, and ill-defined problems. Congenital malformations such as Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome and related disorders are usefully considered. However, the section on the difficult and controversial "pelvic congestion syndrome" was neither comprehensive nor convincing. The final and smaller section concerns the management of telangiectatic veins. For those not familiar with the management of these difficult problems, this is invaluable. There is excellent information on technique and a comprehensive and authoritative overview of complications. The book is easy and enjoyable to read and liberally illustrated with diagrams, venograms, and clinical photographs - many of them in color. It will be of considerable value to anyone with an interest in venous disease and is recommended. However, it is important to note that the book is neither a comprehensive nor definitive study of venous disease. Indeed the Editors never intended it to be. Simon Darke, MS Rnyal Victoria Hospital-Rnyal Boumemouth Hospital Dorset, England
Leonardo Da Vinci: The anatomy of man Martin Clayton, Boston, 1992, Little, Brown & Company, 141 pages, $40.
Leonardo Da Vinci: The A~atomy ofMan is a collection of reproductions of anatomic drawings and notes created by Leonardo Da Vinci from 1487 to 1513. They have been assembled from the very well-preserved collection of Queen Elizabeth II, which is housed in the Royal Library at
Windsor Castle (No mention is made of whether this collection was damaged by the fire in 1992). The book is actually a catalogue of an exhibition by the same title shown at the Museums of Fine Art in Houston and Boston and the Philadelphia Museum of Art during 1992-1993. This attractively bound book is printed on heavy bonded paper and contains illustrations and text, some of which do not appear in the exhibit. The reproductions of Da Vinci's drawings (82 drawings, 59 in color) are crisp and clear, and a fine value considering the price of the book ($40). Comparing them with a well-known complete collection of Da Vinci's art-Leonardo Da Vinci, a book by Artabras, there are more ofDa Vinci's scientific drawings reproduced with such clarity and warmth that the reader feels as though they are leafing through the folios themselves. The text is written by two authors who come from distinctly different professions: Martin Clayton, the Assistant Curator in the Print Room at Windsor Castle and an art historian, and Ron Philo, an anatomist at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. Their combined text accompanies each drawing and creates a dialogue between art historian and scientist that compliments and analyzes the pieces. Mr. Clayton begins the book with a brief biography of Da Vinci and a short history of scientific illustration, including mentions of other Renaissance contemporaries, such as Raphael and Versalius. The remainder of the book is organized into three parts on the basis of the time period whe~ the pieces were created. Within each part the drawmgs are grouped by anatomic system. There are translations of Da Vinci's own notes within the text allowing the reader to hear the artist-scientist's thought~ and words. Mr. Clayton'S historical comments place each drawing within the context of the time period, whereas Mr. Philo's comments relate these drawings to what is currently known about anatomy in the twentieth century. The result is an enjoyable treatise that contrasts Da Vinci's drawings. What Clayton and the Queen's Collection have done in the assembling of this book is to realize 400 years later Da Vinci's dream, a dream cut short by the plague, to combine artistic studies of human dissection with Galens' concept of the "corpora similaria." This book is recommended to all with an interest in the history of early medicine and art. Ronald J. Stoney, MD University of California Medical Center San Francisco, Calif.
Thrombolysis Edgar Haber, Eugene Braunwald, St. Louis, 1991, Mosby-Year Book, Inc., 357 pages, $59. Numerous review and text books have been written about thrombolysis, each becoming obsolete by clinical data extinction, advances in molecular biology, and bio181